Page 484 of Manhattan Bossholes

Steph snorted at me, and I looked up at her against my better judgment, only to see her doing a vigorous hand job motion. I threw a pillow at her head.

“You don’t have to thank me, just keep up the good work around the office,” he said.

“That’s my job; I get paid to do that. What you’re offering me is something more. I definitely need to thank you for your help.” I bit back a grin. “I have a fantastic idea! What if I serenade you? I know you love my singing.”

He chuckled. “Absolutely not.”

“Oh, come on,” I teased, settling into the couch and crossing my legs. “I could do a ‘Beyonce’s greatest hits’ concert for you! Can’t you just picture it? One solid hour of me hitting those high notes. You’ll love it.”

“I’ll pay you not to,” he shot back.

There was a lightness in his voice I’d never heard before. The big bad boss man was actually having fun with me!

“Ooh, this is getting interesting,” I purred. “How much are we talking here? Because I don’t come cheap, Mr. Branson.”

“Lots. Lots and lots of money.”

I could hear the smile in his voice.

“You’ve got my attention,” I said. “But I really do think you’d be missing out.” I cleared my throat. “Mi-mi-mi-mi,” I sang, purposely sounding rusty and off-key.

Steph laughed at me.

“Stop!” he pleaded. “Stop it right now. It’s painful.”

I pouted. “Boo. You’re so mean.”

“I’m offering you money not to sing, I’d say that’s a pretty fair trade-off.”

I grinned. “Okay, you’ve got a deal. We can work out the exact terms when you pick me up from class.” I paused. “And seriously, thank you for stepping up to help me.”

“No problem.”

The line went quiet, like we both weren’t quite sure what to say next, but it seemed like neither of us was ready to hang up.

“Um, those TPS reports,” I said, grasping for a safe topic. “I’ll grab them off the server and send them to you as soon as we hang up.”

“Right, right, of course,” he said, back in business mode. “Appreciate it.”

“Okay, um, good talk!” I said, blushing when I remembered the dick-centric reason why he’d called me. “I mean, weird talk, but we figured it out, right?”

“Yup, see you tomorrow.”

We both hung up and I stared at my phone in silence.

“Wow,” Steph said.

I shrugged at her. “It turned out okay in the end.”

“Nat, your face! I haven’t seen you light up like that in ages. You should see how big your smile is.”

I squirmed because I knew she was onto something. “Stop. We were just being stupid.”

“Exactly, you were having fun and flirting. I’m shocked that you remember how to do it! But you were actually pretty good. I guess it’s like riding a bike.”

“I absolutely was not flirting with my boss!” I tried to glare at her, but my face felt like it was fixed in a perma-grin. “I was trying to save my job, which I almost lost thanks to your X-rated texting.”

She threw her hands up at me. “Okay, okay, whatever you say. I’m just calling it like I see it. So, he’s going to help you out?”